Behind the doors of Israel’s Ofer Prison, where cameras are absent and the voices of prisoners are silenced, the life of a Palestinian doctor came to an end—a physician who had spent years saving the wounded and treating the suffering of patients from his own people.

Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh entered the Israeli prison alive, carrying nothing but his profession and his humanity. According to the testimony of a released Palestinian detainee, he was subjected to a series of brutal Israeli assaults that ultimately led to his death, while fellow prisoners called for him to be rescued, with no one responding to their pleas.

The story of Adnan Al-Bursh is not merely the account of a prisoner’s death. It is the story of a doctor who left behind five children, whose hopes of welcoming their father home were transformed into a wait for his body, after his life ended behind the bars of the Israeli occupation under harsh circumstances—leaving painful questions about torture, denial of medical treatment, and responsibility for his death.

Shocking testimony from released Palestinian detainee Islam Hijazi has revealed horrifying details surrounding the death of Palestinian doctor Adnan Al-Bursh inside Israel’s Ofer Prison. According to Hijazi’s account, Al-Bursh was brutally assaulted by approximately 20 Israeli prison guards while fellow prisoners’ demands for urgent medical care were ignored.

According to Hijazi’s testimony, Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh was greeted upon his arrival at Ofer Prison by an Israeli prison guard who reportedly told him: “We have been waiting for you.” Within minutes, approximately 20 Israeli guards surrounded him and began brutally assaulting him.

According to the testimony, the assault focused on sensitive areas of the doctor’s body, with the apparent aim of inflicting the greatest possible harm. He screamed under the brutality of the torture, before his voice gradually faded until the other prisoners could no longer hear him.

The doctor was subsequently thrown into the yard of Section 23 inside Ofer Prison, where he was suffering from severe difficulty breathing. Prisoners called for a doctor to be summoned to save his life, but their demands were reportedly rejected.

A few hours later, according to the testimony, Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh died. The incident has prompted allegations that he was deliberately killed after being subjected to a severe assault and denied even his most basic rights to medical care and emergency assistance.

Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh had been arrested after Israeli occupation forces besieged Al-Awda Hospital on December 19, 2023. The Israeli forces reportedly called him by name over loudspeakers and threatened to demolish the hospital if he did not surrender himself.

The doctor, who was one of the most prominent orthopedic surgeons in the Gaza Strip, died leaving behind five children. They no longer wait for their father to return home; instead, they now seek only his body so that they can say their final farewell and bury him.

Behind the bars of Ofer Prison, the life of a doctor who had dedicated himself to saving the lives of others came to an end, while his children remain waiting for a simple right that requires nothing more than the return of their father’s body so they can give him a final farewell.

The testimony of released detainee Islam Hijazi remains a grave account of yet another disturbing incident inside Israel’s Ofer Prison. It raises serious humanitarian and human rights questions about the fate of Palestinian prisoners and the conditions of their detention, underscoring the need to establish the truth and hold accountable those responsible for any violations suffered by Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh.